Swords of a brother
by Ray O'Neill
Summary: Death it's not the end. It's only the begging. For one who was alone most of his previous life, his new one gave him people to love and protect... but life is cruel and has its way of making him suffer. The story of a hero who is now a brother to three younger siblings. (One shot)
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer: I do not own Fate/Stay Night or Fairy Tail, or any of its character's, and make no money of this.**

* * *

 **Swords of a brother**

* * *

 **Part 1 – Bittersweet happiness**

* * *

Reincarnation, a highly discussed belief in the world.

It's a claim that the human soul doesn't simply pass on to a higher plane of existence after the mortal body has died. Instead, the soul itself would be recycled and granted a new life within a different body. However, would a reincarnated soul be able to remember past achievements, or future goals?

The answer is uncertain, perhaps they do, or perhaps they don't. For instance, let's assume that one does lose their memory.

If this were indeed the case, it would mean that the person would live their life not even realizing that they had been, in fact, reincarnated.

There was once a man who wondered if reincarnation was real. He had never researched or really believed in reincarnation so to say, but he couldn't deny the possibility of its existence.

He only once went through an experience that could verify the claim that reincarnation existed.

It was during his youth that he encountered a man who was his ideal, an older and mature future version of himself. The Archer of the fifth Holy Grail war.

It was during the times that he and Archer crossed swords that the memories and experiences of his counter parts life would invade his mind. Granting him knowledge and experience he might have encountered one day.

Archer told him that he once heard of magecraft that allows for the user to call forth memories from a previous life and let them possess you.

If his claim was true, then that meant that reincarnation should be possible. However this never bothered the boy, since he never really found it that important.

Except until he was at his deathbed.

He lived his life doing what he believed was right, putting the lives of others above his own. Some called his way of living wrong, destructive or even suicidal, but it was the way he wanted to live, helping those in need, and punishing those who hurt the innocent.

The life of a hero of justice.

He lived a long and harsh life. He had very few he could call friends, and each of them slowly turned their backs on him. Almost all of them tried to help him, hoping that they could at least ease the hardship he was going through, but he refused the help.

For what the man dreamed of wasn't a world where everyone was truly happy, he just wished for a world where the people in front of his eyes didn't have to suffer. For that he tried to never involve other people in his broken way of living.

Because he kept them at an arm's length, slowly one by one, they gave up on him. Even the greatest of friends give up when they see that the person they want to help can't be helped because they won't allow it, not because they can't be helped.

Even the woman who loved him despite his messed up way of living eventually gave up on him. She was the one that held out the most and as much as it pained her heart to give up on him, she didn't have a choice. The man simply cut all ties with her.

After all... he hated when he saw random people cry and suffer. So if he was forced to see the woman he loved suffer, even his glass heart would have bleed.

He was now all alone... but he still went on the path he set himself regardless of the pain of solidarity.

He walked, walked, walked, and walked again so many times. Until he couldn't walk anymore.

Even the greatest of machines will one day stop working. Nothing is everlasting, over usage and improper maintenance leads to it starting to fail its original purpose, and later stops working completely.

For a man like him who felt more machine than human, that was the unavoidable end.

Such was the life of the man lying on the ground with his eyes drifting towards the endless night sky.

His journey finally reached an end. It was long and harsh, many times he felt like it would be better just to give up and retire, but he never did, for it would have betrayed all the work he did until now. It would have been like spitting in the face of the people he was forced to kill on his journey. Good or evil, all life had value to him, but there were times when he had to pull the trigger.

''So this is it.'' His sore and tired voice whispered to himself he stared at the stars.

He was satisfied.

He lived his life the way he always wanted. He has many regrets, but he understood that life wasn't easy. He could pray for forgiveness to the people he failed to protect... to the sister he was unable to save.

There was however one thing that lingered in his mind as the final embers of his life were fading. Just a simple thought. Something random, yet something that had so much meaning.

What if he lived differently?

What if he chosen a different path?

What if he simply listened to his friends and try living a normal life?

What if he simply left it all behind and settled down?

Maybe marry and have some kids?

He didn't ask this questions for himself. He was selfless man after all, his personal feelings and self being were always the second on his priority list.

He wondered these things for the people who tried to help him and failed. He just didn't want anyone to regret failing to help him.

He wondered if things would have been any distinct, had the circumstances of his life been a little different. He wondered if living a simpler life would have made him feel more fulfilled than he is now.

The man wrapped in a red cloth let out a dry chuckle as he wondered all of this. He really was getting old to be thinking about such sentimental things.

For the first time in many years he smiled. It wasn't a happy smile, it was more of an amused one, somehow the idea of him living a normal life with a normal family and normal friends felt weird and humorous to him.

But he couldn't help but wonder how such a life would have felt.

 _''Perhaps it would have been interesting.''_ Was the final thought the man had before his eyes closed for good, his breathing stopped and his heart let out its final beat.

The machine has finally stopped.

The man after such a long, almost endless journey finally welcomed the eternal rest. The man who was known in his life by many names.

The Queens Dog. The Faker. The Wrought Iron magus. The second Magus Killer.

But more importantly, the man who long ago was known by the name of Shirou Emiya.

* * *

The second time Shirou acknowledged that reincarnation was possible was when he opened his eyes again.

It was strange. His vision was very weak, everything appearing very foggy. What he couldn't decipher with his sight, he made up with his hearing.

''Congratulation. It's a healthy baby boy.'' He heard a man declare proudly, if not outright happy.

This perked Shirou's interest.

Was there a baby in the room? Why was he in a room? Last time he checked he was in the middle of a desert miles away from civilization.

He opened his mouth to ask, but no words came out of it. Just a loud and sharp cry.

''There, there. It's okay my precious, mommy is here.'' A woman whispered gently towards Shirou's ear, he could feel his body being waved left and right.

Weird... his body felt different.

While confused at first, he analysed the situation and tried to come up with an explanation to what was going with him. A sudden chill went on Shirou's back as he realized what was going on.

His eyes opened wider, allowing him to see his surroundings better. He was in the arms of beautiful woman with fair skin, long black wavy hair and the bluest eyes he ever saw. She looked very tired and exhausted, but she had the brightest smile he ever saw.

Right next to the woman was a man spiky white hair, tanned skin and grey eyes. The man was crying happily as he was hugging the woman. He stared in astonishment at the man as he resembled him. At how much he resembled Archer, at how he resembled himself after the side effects of overusing his magecraft changed his very appearance.

''You did Isabella! You're a parent.'' The man hugged and kissed the woman identified now as Isabella on her forehead with so much unfiltered joy and happiness.

''W-What are you talking about Syrius?'' Isabella chuckled tiredly. ''We both are. He is your son as well, just look at him, he is your spitting image.''

Whatever doubts Shirou had before have just been erased. He now knew for sure.

''Have you thought of a name for the boy?'' an old man dressed as a doctor asked the young couple.

''Yes.'' The fresh mother smiled brightly. ''Shirou. Shirou Strauss.''

It was in that moment that Shirou Emiya realized that he was reincarnated into a new body. He is no longer Shirou Emiya, but Shirou Strauss.

* * *

The life of Shirou Strauss was really odd, so to say. To have the mind of adult in the body of a child certainly wasn't something he could call normal. While he knew how to walk, talk, write and many other things that an infant shouldn't be able to do, his body simply was too young to do any of that.

He didn't have any choice but to accept the fact that he was now a baby and be patient until his body naturally grows enough for him to be able to explore this new world around him.

He decided to use this time and try to study the family and place he was now in.

Though he wished he didn't need to drink milk. It wasn't that he didn't like it, but it felt VERY awkward to be breastfeed by his new mom.

Speaking of which, he now had a new family.

His new family lived in an old village in the country side. His father earned money as a hunter, catching different animals and wild beasts, selling their meat and fur.

His new mother was just simple house wife that took care of him and the old house.

Shirou could tell by looking around the house that his family wasn't exactly what you would call a family with a great financial situation. While they couldn't afford more expensive or luxurious things, they still had everything they needed. In short they lived a humble life, but they were happy nonetheless.

Shirou felt that the conditions they lived weren't good enough for kind people like them. He knew what he will do when he be able to walk again.

* * *

About six years had passed since Shirou was 'born'. Many things happened during those six years, besides Shirou relearning how to do the most basic of activities.

The moment that Shirou learned to walk again he started looking around the land he was now in. Shirou was considering the possibility of being reincarnated in a different time line, but he realized that it might be more than that. Shirou realized that he was reincarnated in a whole different world.

The time period seemed to be somewhere around the late middle ages or the early modern period in Europe. He noticed that the architecture and the technology was somewhat western. The said technology however was giving Shirou many headaches.

For one thing the cars that he knew of didn't exist yet, but there are wagons that run by magical energy.

Another weird thing is phones don't exist here and yet they have developed a sorts of magical hologram communication crystals.

Another thing was the journalism here. While Shirou could buy the idea of newspapers existing so much earlier than in his world, he just couldn't comprehend that gravure magazines also existed in this time period!

And these here were some of the more normal things.

The technology aside. He couldn't feel his magic circuits at all, no it was wrong to say that he couldn't feel them, it was just that they felt like they weren't in the right spot.

What Shirou could feel whenever he tried to activate or feel his circuits, was something more akin to vessel. As if the circuits were replaced by a container of sorts, something much more spacious, but also alien to him.

He managed replicate some of his old skills like Structural Grasping and Reinforcement, but it was on much smaller scale. If he were to put it in numbers he could only ten percent of his original skills.

Perhaps it was due to the foreign magical container he now possessed or perhaps it was simply because Shirou was physically just a six year old boy.

He decided to keep his magecraft to himself and slowly develop it as he figured out more about his new powers.

One of the things that Shirou learned was that magic in this world was something very common. He heard stories from Rin how during the age of the Gods magic was something common, but it didn't compare to how it was in this world.

The quantity of mana lingering in the air was very thick, in fact it was so thick that Shirou speculated that a servant could probably stay materialized in this world without the need of a master as long as they don't exhaust themselves too much.

The magic system in this world was simply unrestrained by the laws of his old world. In his original world, the secrecy of magic was absolute, so absolute that divulging its secrecy to random people would make you a literal wanted criminal and you have both the Clock Tower and the Church after your skin.

In this world however, people use magic for everyday things, they even use them in open streets and people walk of and reacting as if nothing really important happened.

Heck they even have shops that sell magical items!

The first time Shirou saw a display of this worlds so called magic, was when some people were brawling using magic on a main street of a city, he panicked that those people will get themselves killed for exposing magic like that.

Don't be mistaken, there is a maintenance system just like in his original world, but rather than keep the secrecy of magic, they try to maintain the public safety concerning magic. That's why the Magic Council exists, a group of powerful and influential mages in the country that make sure that magic isn't used for wrong reasons.

In simple terms they could be called a magical police. They capture mages who use illegal magic and do crimes using their magic.

One of the other things that they maintain are the mage guilds, organisations that act as employment offices for mages. Guilds usually receive various job requests from different people and mages who have the requirements to do them and get paid upon completing them. They could range from simple everyday activities like catching a rare animal, to more advance and dangerous missions like exterminating deadly monsters.

How did Shirou now all this information?

Turns out his grandfather, Syrius's father used to be a mage and member of a guild in Fiore. While Syrius never became a mage himself, he still learned a thing or two about them. So Syrius now had to put up with Shirou always asking mage and magic related questions. He could only sigh and wonder when his son will start asking him about girls.

''Oh morning Syrius. You and the lad went hunting again?'' a man smiled as he met with Shirou and his dad on the road to their house.

''Yep. We really made a good capture today. Heck Shirou was the one who found the lair and lure it out.'' He chuckled as he ruffled his sons hair.

''That's very impressive Shirou-kun.'' The man nodded as he smiled at the boy, but Shirou could see something underneath that smile.

Shirou was rather gullible during his previous life, but he wasn't blind. The life he led made him more prone to sense hostility from people, just like how a warrior could feel the bloodlust from an enemy.

Shirou knew that he and his family weren't very well received by the other villagers. He could always see a kind of animosity whenever they looked at him or his father.

He didn't understood the source of it, until he accidentally overheard an old man telling a story to a group of kids. It happened a few years before his family moved to this village. A demon of some sorts attacked the village and killed many of its people, so many that there isn't a single family in this village that didn't lost at least one member to the monster.

The villagers tried their best to kill it, but they simply couldn't as the demon was simply to powerful. All they managed to do was scare it off and make it run away.

Ever since that day the villagers developed a deep hatred towards demons and other beasts of their kind, but there was one particular trait of the demon that was deeply engraved into the memories of the villagers.

The demon had a humanoid form and it had pure white hair.

The reason why the villagers fear or even hate Shirou and his father is because they share the same unnatural hair color as the demon.

Truthfully there were many weird and unnatural hair colors in this world from what Shirou could notice, but to them having such white hair while still youthful was something unusual if not straight out creepy.

While the villagers didn't persecute them because of it, they chose to keep a rather professional relationship with the Strauss family. Even if they like it or not, Syrius Strauss was a very skilled hunter, and he was doing a great job by hunting the dangerous beasts that were lurking around the village.

So while they decided not to persecute them, they also didn't helped them when they were in need. So the Strauss family was pretty much on their own.

They were still happy even if the village treated them as outcasts. But there was one problem that the Strauss couple wasn't aware of.

Shirou only acknowledged them as his parents with only half of a heart. Who could you blame him?

After all he still had the memories from his previous life that kept him Shirou Emiya at the core.

To him, his true father and only family will always be Kiritsugu Emiya, the man who saved him from the fire of the fourth grail war. Shirou didn't know if he would ever consider the Strauss couple as his family.

Or at least it wasn't until the family gained a new member.

Shirou thought that it was a good thing that Isabella got pregnant again, because this time the Strauss family will have their real child, not someone who claimed the body of their child. This was how Shirou truly felt sometimes, that by being reincarnated into this body, the Strauss couple were denied of their real son, this was another one of the reasons why Shirou couldn't view himself as their son.

He wasn't sure how he would react around his new sibling, or how things would change now, but he knew for sure that things will be different.

And it happened.

Isabella gave birth to healthy baby girl, which they decided to call Mirajane. She was probably the most innocent looking child Shirou had ever seen. She got her mother's eyes and looks, but she inherited her father's white hair. When he looked at her, he wondered if she was a small fairy.

But it also made him feel uncomfortable.

Long ago, there was another girl with white hair that was supposed to be his sister. The biological daughter of Kiritsugu Emiya. The half-homunculus girl, and the master of Berserker of the fifth grail war, Illyasviel Von Einzbern.

The sister that he failed to protect.

Due to this reasons Shirou wasn't sure if he could ever call himself Mirajane's brother, he wasn't sure if he had that right.

Things changed for Shirou one night when he went to check up Mira. She was crying and he tried to calm her down. When he extended his hand to take her in his arms, Mira grabbed his finger and did the last thing Shirou could have expected.

She laughed.

It was in that moment that Shirou felt something he felt very few times in his former life.

Happiness.

To him the concept of happiness was very foreign. He could barely count on his fingers the instance where he considered himself happy.

But this...

This small and simple action. The simple action of small child made him feel something so powerful in his glass heart.

He took her in his arms and gently cuddled against her soft cheeks. ''It's ok Mira.'' He whispered gently to her small ear. ''Onii-chan is here.'' He cried with what was probably the happiest smile he ever had.

From such a small and kind gesture Mira succeeded in doing what her parents were unable. To make Shirou leave behind his previous life and move on his new one. To make Shirou Emiya accept himself as Shirou Strauss. As the child of Syrius and Isabella, and as her big brother.

* * *

The years have passed and Shirou was now wondering if he truly deserved this life.

To him Mira was akin to salvation in the sea of doubt that he was swimming in for so many years. He didn't know if this was some sort of reward for the hardships in his previous life, but he knew that he appreciated it.

The surprises of his new life simply kept multiplying as his parents offered him two more siblings besides Mira.

The third child of the Strauss family was a boy. They decided to name him Elfman. He took more of his father's side as he inherited his looks and hair, which made him resemble Shirou more than Mira did.

The fourth and final child of the Strauss couple was a girl they named Lisanna. If it wasn't for the age difference between her and Mira, people would swear that the two girls were twins. Sisters or not, they resembled each other way too much.

This new life was simple. Simple yet so satisfying. The Strauss family didn't need wealth or social standing to be truly happy, they were one of the happiest family one could met all because they all had each other.

''Shirou, stop daydreaming and come to eat with us.'' His mother told him gently, he looked at the table and saw the modest yet delicious meal and the smiles of his sibling and heard the laughter of his dad.

''Yeah, yeah I'm coming.'' He smiled and rushed to his family side.

Shirou was truly happy.

His new life was like a dream.

But because it was like a beautiful dream that he knew deep down that one day he will have to wake up from it.

* * *

Years have passed yet again and Shirou had grown up together with his siblings. The more he grew up the more he couldn't help but sigh whenever he looked in a mirror. It was like seeing a much younger version of Archer with his hair down.

Even though he knew that Archer and he were basically the same person that took different roads in life, he still couldn't like the guy. It didn't help that Archer had a sharp tongue and was being a dick whenever he had the chance. Rin Tohsaka can attest to that.

In his previous life Shirou was born with auburn hair, light skin, and golden eyes. The way he looked later in his life was due to the side effects of overusing his magecraft, it wasn't the natural way he looked. So seeing himself grow up with these looks made him feel rather awkward.

Letting aside how he was growing, he couldn't help but smile as he siblings were growing as well.

Mira was what many would call a small fire cracker, her attitude was rather punkish and she often picked up fights with older kids. But mostly because those said kids said nasty stuff about her and her family.

Despite all of this Shirou knew that she was a kindhearted girl underneath that rough exterior. One that would get all embarrassed whenever Shirou patted her on the head.

''You fought again Mira?'' He narrowed his eyes at his sister's messy clothes. ''What happened this time?''

''Some older boys were badmouthing you, saying that the reason why the girls aren't responding to their advances is because you are a demon in disguise and that you charmed them.'' She explained with a scorn on her lips.

Shirou sighed tiredly, another stupid reason to start a fight, but he still appreciated Mira for trying to defend him. His hand reached for Mira's head. ''While I don't like the fact that you fought like this, I still appreciate your feelings, my little battle princess.'' he smiled as he began patting her head.

''I-I told t-to stop calling me that, it's embarrassing.'' She revolted, her face all red and embarrassed, though she didn't dislike the feeling of having her head patted.

Elfman was somewhat of a quiet, shy and kind child. He had a deep passion for animals and nature. This caused a little trouble when Shirou and his dad returned from hunting trips since Elfman would pass out when they tried to skin and dismember the captures.

Even so Shirou still loved his little brother, the one that always was following him around and wanted to learn to be a man like his older brother.

''Elfman I know you're there so stop hiding.'' He commented as he heard a ruffling sound of the leaves.

''I'm sorry Shirou-nii.'' He apologized as he got down from a nearby tree. ''I didn't want to distract you from your training.'' He pointed out at the two wooden swords Shirou's hands.

''I would be more distracted knowing that you're hiding in dangerous places. '' He sighed tiredly, if Elfman wasn't careful he could fall from that tree and hurt himself. ''Come closer and take a seat.''

''Yes!'' he smiled and did as his older brother suggested.

Lisanna was probably the one that loved her elder brother the most out of all three of them. She always tried to spend time with him whenever she got the chance, asking him to play with her and tell her stories of the unknown heroes that Shirou knew.

Lisanna always had a rather interesting habit of teasing Shirou whenever she got the chance. Things like 'Shirou-nii will never get a girlfriend if he acts like that' or 'Shirou-nii would rather face an angry beast than face a maiden in love with him.'

If there was one thing that Shirou couldn't stand was getting teased, but he would make a special exception for Lisanna.

''Shirou-nii can you tell me the story about the golden sword again?'' she smiled as she wrapped her arms around her brothers neck.

''You sure like that one.'' He chuckled at his sister enthusiasm, though how could she blame her, it was his favorite story as well. ''Very well. Long ago, in a land named Britain, there was a golden sword stabbed in a rock, on it wrote-''

Just as Shirou loved his little siblings, so did they love their older brother. Their tall and hardworking big brother, their big brother who loved to cook, their big brother who practiced swordsmanship in the back of their house, and always had a goofy smile on his face. Their precious Shirou-nii.

Shirou was now fifteen and was doing something that he never imagined he would do.

Bury his parents.

It happened so suddenly that he had a hard time truly understanding how exactly could it had happened.

His parents died.

His father and mother went to the big city to sell the pelts of the animals and wild beasts that his father hunted. Shirou did say he wanted to go with them and help them, but his parents insisted that he needs to stay home and take care of his siblings. On their way back they were attacked by bandits. They murdered them to steal their money.

Shirou fell to his knees as he was reminded that no matter the time, place or land, it was the same everywhere. Life isn't a fairy tale where no one dies, and that the World can be a cruel place.

He felt so much pain and despair as he watched the graves of his parents getting covered in earth, but he didn't feel it for himself,rather he felt it for his younger siblings.

He had the heart of war veteran in him. To him death was something he was used to seeing, but his innocent siblings, they shouldn't have to go through this.

It pained him so much to see them cry like this.

Lisanna and Elfman were crying rivers of tears. Even Mira, the one that always acted tough was crying so much. He didn't want to see this... little children in so much pain as they were forced to bury their owe parents.

Just what can he do now?

''S-Shirou-nii?'' Lisanna tugged his shirt and looked at him with teary swollen eyes. ''W-What we will do now without mama and papa?'' she asked in a pained and shaken voice, he could see in her eyes the despair and confusion she was feeling. Who could blame her?

She was just a child, they all were just children who never knew the pain of losing someone. Normally in moments like this, when a child loses a parent, the other living parent should be there to comfort them, and make sure they didn't give in to the pain. But if both parents were gone, who could do it?

Shirou cringed in pain as he saw them. He needed to swallow all the pain he felt, he needed to be strong, for their sake.

He knew what to do.

He got on his knees and pulled them all into strong hug. ''Its ok.'' he whispered to them. ''Onii-chan will take care of all of you!'' he told them in a broken voice. He may have failed to protect many people in his previous life, he may have failed to protect his new parents, but not even the God or the Devil could get in his way of protecting his siblings.

* * *

Taking care of three siblings was much difficult that Shirou initially believed. He may have had some experience with Fujimura Taiga, but he now had to act as both a brother, a mother and a father.

He would get up first thing in the morning, prepare the breakfast and lunch for them to have for the day, then leave for half of the day to earn money by doing jobs he could find. They varied, from working fields, to hunting animals and monsters, to repairing stuff. He would do whatever job he could find in the nearby zone so he could be close to his siblings.

In truth he would have probably earned a lot more money if he went to the Magnolia and joined a mage guild, but it was too far away from the village.

After many thinking sessions and finance calculating Shirou decided what would be the best for his siblings. While the life in this village wasn't bad, it was also limiting their options and after structural grasping the old house, he could speculate that in a few years it would crumble no matter how much he would repair it, after all nothing was everlasting. So he will work for the next two or three years and slowly raise money. If he cut down his personal expenses to food, clothes and other things to half, he should be able to raise enough money for him to move with his siblings to Magnolia and start a new life.

While the option of rent was available he wanted to make sure that he had a stable home for them as he didn't knew exactly how well he could earn money in the big city. His magecraft wasn't something to special, and he hasn't been able to project, so he was limited on what he could do.

Besides it was a bit difficult to find place to rent there for a single person, let alone for a family of four. So for now he would raise money so his sibling could have a proper home.

After his daily labor Shirou would arrive home and take care of his siblings and do the rest of the house work. Later preparing dinner and reading them bedtime stories based on the legends of the heroes he encountered during his previous life.

It was a hard way of living, but Shirou didn't care. As long as his siblings were happy, so was he.

* * *

Shirou was cold. He was trembling slightly on the cold wooden floor. Winter had arrived very early this year and caught him by surprise. He had enough fire wood so he was managing to warm up the house, but the floor and lower walls were filled with many cracks where the cold air could enter.

It wasn't too bad, the mornings were a little chilly, but if they stayed in their beds they should be fine during the night. At least that would have been the case if Shirou's bed didn't crumble this snowy evening. It was an old bed, even after reinforcing it still had limits.

Now he could have repaired the cracks, but it was very late and he didn't want to make any noise to wake up the others.

The only choice Shirou had for tonight was sleep on the cold floor until the next day when he could go build himself a new bed and fix the cracks.

As Shirou was trembling from the cold he heard a small cracking sound. He looked to the door and saw Lisanna looking at him with sad eyes, holding a small blanket in her hands. He could only smile bitterly at her. ''H-Hey Lisanna what's the matter, did you have a bad dream?'' he asked while trying to appear ok.

''Shirou-nii...'' she began, her usual cheerful tone was gone and was replaced by a sad one. He could also notice her trembling slightly, no doubt from the cold floor. ''Why are you sleeping on the floor?''

''Onii-chan's bed had a little accident.'' He laughed a bit embarrassed, scratching the back of his head. ''But its ok, I will fix it tomorrow. Now go back to sleep before you catch a cold.''

Instead of listening to her older brother like she always did, she walked to him, got under his blanket and hugged him around his waist, placing her blanket over them. Shirou was confused for a couple of seconds, but knew this wasn't a good idea. ''Lisanna you can't stay with me, the floor is cold, you might get sick or-''

''Then why does Shirou-nii do it?!'' she shouted at him, gripping on his cold clothes. ''You always try to do everything by yourself no matter how hard and difficult it is. I hate it when Shirou-nii suffers because of us.'' She cried as she opened up to him.

Her words hurt worse than a sword slashing through his flesh, something he had a lot of experience with. ''I'm not suffering Lisanna. I'm just doing what I want and what I need to do as your older brother.''

She didn't responded and just picked up Shirou's hand, slowly trailing the skin on his palm. ''Shirou-nii's palms are always covered in blisters and cuts, you even lost weight again. It's not fair that you have to do everything!''

''Lisanna I-'' Shirou was so preoccupied that he didn't notice that they weren't the only ones in the room.

''She is right Shirou-nii.'' Mira said as she entered the room together with Elfman. ''You keep trying to do everything by yourself. If you do that you will eventually break down.''

''Shirou-nii you can't keep living like this. You will get sick, or in worst case you will die. If that would happen we will be to blame.'' He told his older brother with teary eyes, he usually never went against his brother, but in this case he needed to be a man.

Both younger siblings walked towards him and took a seat on his left and right side, cuddling next to him and covering him with their blankets.

Shirou wanted to complain and tell them to get up before they catch a cold, but Mira beat him to it. ''Shirou-nii you keep telling us that it's a brothers job to take care of his younger siblings, but the younger siblings should try and help their older brother however they can.''

''I couldn't call myself a man if I let my brother shoulder everything by himself. '' Elfman threw his own two cents.

''We just want you to be happy Shirou-nii.'' Lisanna whispered in a pained tone to Shirou's ear.

Shirou was silent.

Was he really making them suffer by trying to do everything by himself?

Was he making the same mistake he was made during his old life?

He cringed his eyes as he realized his own stupidity. He put his arms around his siblings, pulling them closer into a hug. He needed to try and change his very core in order to make things right.

''Starting tomorrow I will start teaching you how to cook and take care of the house, but no more than that.'' He told them in a defeated tone. While he wanted to do everything, he needed to compromise.

''Now that's better.'' Lisanna smiled as she snuggled against his chest.

The three younger siblings didn't leave their brothers embrace. They kept him warm until morning.

Shirou did indeed feel warm. Both his body and his heart did.

* * *

Two years had passed since his parents died. Shirou was now seventeen and his long term plan will soon be completed. After two years of half starving himself and keeping all of his necessities to a minimum he almost finished raising enough money for him and his siblings to move and start a new life Magnolia.

All he needed were just few more odd jobs and he will be done. And he just found the best job to finish it all.

Recently a large beast has been terrorizing the nearby forest. If what Shirou had heard about it is true, its meat, hide, claws and fangs will sell at a very high price. All he needed to do was to kill it.

He joined the hunting party that his father used to part of during his days as a hunter. While he had to admit that he needed the money, he wasn't the only person around that was in need of money as there were other hunters who had to bring food on the tables for their families. Old habits die hard and he couldn't just let other families starve while he took all the prey.

''I'm off.'' He told his siblings as he stepped out of his house. ''The hunt should take a day or two at most.''

''Do you really have to go?'' Lisanna asked, her voice filled with concern.

''Yeah I do. Just this one last time and then we can finally move.'' Shirou told them with a small smile.

''Promise you will return.'' Mira demanded from Shirou, while she trusted her brother's skills as a hunter she did hear rumours that the beast is very dangerous.

''Don't I always return?'' he half joked.

''Please... promise.'' Mira asked him, more emotionally this time.

Shirou didn't enjoyed when Mira looked at him like that. It made him feel really awkward. ''Fine, I promise you three that no matter what happens I will return to you.''

''That's better.'' Elfman smiled to his older brother.

''You kids behave while I'm gone.'' Shirou said as he began walking.

''Have a safe trip.'' Lisanna waved her hand to him.

They watched as their brother walked away from their house, not knowing of what was to come.

* * *

The hunt for the beast was going well. Of course it was all due to Shirou's skills, the others with him acting more like a cheering squad than a hunting team.

After many attempts Shirou was finally able to project again. While he wasn't able to project noble phantasms, he was able to project regular weapons. This gave him a distinctive edge against the beast.

The tactic he used was to lure it out of the forest into the open. While he could have fought it in the forest, he didn't want to risk ruining it in the process, as doing so could leave them without future pray. For that he climbed in the high trees and used his bow to injure the beast. It wasn't able to track Shirou due to him being so high and in its confusion it tried to run away.

By shooting his arrows at calculated locations, Shirou was able to direct it to the designated place.

The beast ran as fast as it could. It eventually ran out of places to run since Shirou directed it towards a cliff right above an endless ravine. He knew that fighting this creature into the forest was giving the beast to much of an advantage and their fight might even ruin the forest, so he needed to take the beast to a more open area.

Shirou slowly circled the confused beast. He narrowed his eyes on its target. Its body had the size of an adult lion, the head was a cross between an alligator and a komodo dragon, its tail had a razor blade glave attached to its tip, and its paws had long and sharp claws.

The simplest way to describe the abomination in front of Shirou was a monster, but this didn't change the fact that almost every part of this monster valued a lot.

He saw the look in its eyes. It was getting desperate as it was cornered with nowhere left to run. Shirou didn't allow the time for the beast to attack and it shot it its vitals with arrows.

The beast let out a pained cry as it collapsed near the edge of the cliff, the blood began flowing in streams out of its wounds.

Shirou sighed as this hunt took more time that he expect. He shot an arrow in the sky signalling to the other hunters to come out of the forest. They immediately responded and came running.

''Wow, impressive as always Shirou-kun. No doubt that you are truly a genius marksman.'' One of the men complimented Shirou, but Shirou knew that he was only trying to get a bigger share of the beast by trying to get on his good side.

He obviously ignored him and approached the beast. He needed to cut the head and let the blood drain out of it before the meat got ruined.

As he was walking he kept hearing the other hunters compliment him and arguing among themselves about their share of the beast.

Shirou felt his eyes throb as he arrived in front of the beast. He turned around and shouted at the other hunters. ''Will you stop with all the complaining. I will make sure everyone has a fair share!''

They were a bit scared by Shirou suddenly raising his voice. ''Y-Yes, you are right, sorry about- BEHIND YOU!'' a man screamed and pointed behind Shirou.

He tried to react, the moment he turned around he saw the beast back on its feet trying to split him apart with its claw.

Reinforcing his muscles to their utmost limits, Shirou managed to avoid the claw of the beast by mere millimeters.

It was a mistake.

By dodging the attack, the beasts attack hit the ground, causing the edge of the cliff the two of them were on to snap and break.

It was too late. Shirou failed to react in time and began crashing together with the beast in the darkness's of the bottomless ravine.

He made a mistake. One that he will later regret all his life.

* * *

Shirou opened his eyes. At first he was confused, but the torrents of pain that hit him made him remember what happened.

He fell in the ravine after that beast broke the cliff. He couldn't help to notice that the so called bottomless ravine, does have in fact a bottom. He could see the sky and the sun up, but they were very, very far away. He must have crashed a really long way down here.

He was glad his reinforcement managed to keep him in one piece and not literally get squashed on the moment of impact with the ground. It also helped that he hit a couple of trees growing on the walls of the ravine, they managed to slow down his fall.

''Strange.'' He thought as he tried to move his lower body but failed to feel it.

He quickly performed a structural grasping of his body to see just how injured he was. He didn't like the end results. Both arms and legs were broken, and his spinal cord took quite the hit.

He was pretty much paralyzed from his waist down.

If he didn't received any help quickly he would die here in less than a day. He had few options.

He could wait for the other hunters to try and find him, but he highly doubted that they would find him in time.

He could try and drag is body to the nearby river and let the stream take him, perhaps it would take him an area with people. No, that would be stupid.

He had only one solution that could save him.

Projection.

But not just any projection, he needed to project the one item that he was lacking ever since he was reborn in this world.

He managed to raise he broken arms up and muttered.

''T-Trace on.''

Yet nothing appeared.

It failed.

Why did it fail?

Why did projecting a noble phantasm always fail?

He gone through all eight projecting steps in his head.

He knew that specific object more than any other weapon in his arsenal. If there was an object he could project better than all it was certainly it.

He tried again.

It failed.

''Again.''

It failed.

''Again!''

It failed.

''AGAIN!''

It just kept failing.

His arms fell to his side as his body couldn't take it anymore. Failing to project something in this world always seemed to have a nasty backlash effect on Shirou. By getting subjected to multiple backlashes combined with his already life threatening injuries, Shirou just accelerated his own demise.

His eyes began closing. What could he do in this situation?

His body was broken, his projecting was failing him, and his consciousness was leaving him.

He was out of ideas. Cursing himself for his incompatibility with healing magecraft.

He felt so tired. Perhaps if he slept for a while he might figure out something.

His eyes closed.

''Shirou-nii.'' The voices of his siblings whispered in the back of his mind.

''No!'' his eyes snapped open. He couldn't die here, not when they were waiting for him to return. ''I have to return!''

He ignored all the pain that was screaming to him to give up and lifted his hands.

He needed it.

They said that heroes had moments in their life when they defied all the odds and performed feats that could only be called miracles.

If there was still a part of Shirou that wanted to be a hero, then he called forth that part as he poured all the magical energy he could muster from his body.

 **''TRACE ON!''** he didn't need a miracle, just a proper projection.

His previous life he lived as a sword. His very being was a sword. The foundation of all of his powers that defied him as a magus was a sword.

A sword meant to protect others.

By living and existing as a sword Shirou was able to use magecraft that shouldn't have been possible, granting him the unique ability to project the weapons of heroes, and using them as if he was the owner himself.

He sometimes speculated that the reason why he couldn't project noble phantasms anymore was because he stopped living as sword.

So if he had to go by that logic, in order for him to project again, he had to become a sword again. Only this time however he was going to become a sword meant to protect the ones that he loves and cherishes.

He opened his mouth slowly and muttered the words that started the poem of his life.

 **''I am the bone of my sword.''**

Magical light began swirling and circulating around his hands, collecting into a single point above his chest, taking shape and form.

Shirou smiled bitterly as he saw the familiar object. As the light died down, his broken fingers traced the edges of the golden sheath that saved his life so many times.

The link between Shirou and his precious King of Knights that Kiritsugu Emiya granted him when he saved him from the flames of the great Fuyuki fire.

The ultimate protection bestowed to King Arthur by the Lady of the Lake.

Avalon, the ever distant utopia.

The sensation of the sheath entering his body after so many years felt like the embrace of an old friend he just met again after many decades.

It was done.

He could already feel the sheath easing his pain. Fake or not, the power of the Fae forged artifact couldn't be denied.

He passed out. Letting his old friend do its job.

* * *

Shirou wasn't what one may call a forgetful person, but even he had his moments from time to time, and those times tended to fall at the worst of moments.

Such as the current one.

While it's true that Avalon is by many levels a powerful healing artifact that could heal even the most heinous of wounds if given enough time and mana, but it still had some small conditions and limits.

One of the conditions that Shirou forgot was that Avalon heals wounds one by one. This was in fact a very big problem. There were times when Avalon would focus on healing a small sword cut instead of healing a hole in Shirou's abdomen. Also it didn't help that the more injuries and the more complex they were, the more time it would require for Shirou to make a full on recovery.

Because of this simple facts it took Shirou no less than a whole month to recover enough to be able to climb himself out of the hell hole he was in.

He would have gotten out of it much earlier if he didn't overexert his just healed spine, causing it to crack again, sending Shirou back at the bottom for an additional week.

How did Shirou survive in there for a month without food or water one might think?

Well it just happened that a small river was flowing right where Shirou crashed the first time, so he didn't have to worry about water.

Regarding the food problem, the ravine was actually quite a big nest for snakes. Contrary to what many people would believe, snakes are actually an edible high protein source and taste good if cooked properly. Shirou was grateful that he learned how to skin and cook them during those six months he spent in Vietnam trying to prevent a war from starting there.

But after a full month of eating almost nothing but snakes he sure won't be eating any more for next five to ten years.

After his bones were finally back in one piece he began climbing up the wall of the ravine.

Never in his life was he so grateful to see the sun up in the sky, or to feel the gentle breeze of the wind through his hair.

As much as he enjoyed the sensations, he had to hurry home as he left his siblings all alone for a whole month.

A decision which would have been better never to make.

* * *

''W-What the hell?'' he whispered in denial as he started at where his house should have been.

When he arrived back to his home he wished that the time he spent in the darkness of the ravine was making his vision play tricks on him. He wished that the snakes he ate were poisonous and were now causing him to hallucinate. He wished that what he was seeing was a dream and he just had to wake up from it.

His home... was gone.

Where his house once stood, now was only a pile of burned debris and ash. What happened here? How could something like this happen?

But more importantly... where were Mira, Lisanna and Elfman?

His very core was so shocked that he didn't notice that people have gather a few meters behind him.

''We heard some of the children saying that they saw you running through the village.'' An elder looking man remarked as he looked at Shirou frozen form. ''For a moment we fought we might be seeing a ghost, but it turns out you indeed managed to survive the fall.''

For the villagers Shirou was dead. Who could blame them since it was humanly impossible to survive a fall in a ravine of that dept. Even by magical means, falling there was certain death. It was because of this that the villagers didn't even bother to search for him or try to recover his body.

The only people who still believed that Shirou survived were his siblings.

Shirou didn't move from his position, his eyes were obstructed by his white bangs. ''Where are my siblings?'' he asked in a slow and broken tone, but a small amount of blood lust could be felt from it.

The people present didn't have the courage to tell him what happened. One of the older and more brutish looking men decided to break it down to him. ''About that, there was a situation while you were gone. We had-''

''I ASKED WHERE THEY ARE?!'' he demanded in uncharacteristic scream, he didn't turn around to face them as he didn't know if he could control himself.

Of one the villagers looked to the side. ''They're dead.'' He told him in a cold tone.

Shirou felt something snap in him as the weight of the whole world threatened to crash on him. His heart was beating chaotically, feeling like it will explode. The contents of his stomach were boiling and threatening to come out. His hands began shaking uncontrollably. His facial features were all cringed painfully.

Shirou was however silent.

The villagers decided to explain everything before things escalated. ''It happened about a week after the hunters returned and told us that you died. A demon recently took refuge in the village church. We tried to kill it but were unable to.''

''Your sister Mirajane tried to kill it, telling us that it was something you would do.'' A mustached man said.

''She did kill the demons physical body, but her body got possessed by the demon in the process.'' A woman shivered as she remember how Mira looked after killing the demon.

''We saw it. The demon somehow claimed her body and was slowly reviving itself by turning her body into one of a demon. Her right hand was already fully converted, she even grew a horn on her head.'' Another woman explained as she pointed to her head.

''The demon also controlled the younger siblings, making them protect her.''

''They were beyond saving. The only thing we could do was put them out of their misery.''

''We had no choice but to burn down the house together with them before all the villagers got controlled like the younger siblings.''

Shirou listened to all of them. The part of him that was still Shirou Emiya understood that they might have had no choice but to kill them, for he also did such things back in his old world when people were infected by Dead Apostles, he needed to kill the infected people before they transform and further spread. It was the philosophy that he and Kiritsugu Emiya lived by, kill the few to save the majority.

He understood that it had to be done. However...

''Leave.'' He ordered the villagers in a calm yet venomous tone.

The villagers were a bit confused by his reaction and didn't do as they were said. This only added more fuel on the flames that burned within Shirou.

He turned around and shot a few swords right in front of their feet's. His face looked so pained and distorted. ''LEAVE DAMMIT BEFORE I KILL YOU ALL!'' was all he could scream in despair as he was hanging on the last threads of morality he had left.

It was true that Shirou Emiya might have understood the necessity of their actions.

But Shirou Strauss was a different story. To him, his siblings were the reason of his life, they were colors in the black and white world that always surrounded him... and they took them from him.

He wanted to do nothing more than kill every villager he could catch. Stab them and let them die slowly and painful.

He wanted to make them pay. To make them suffer.

But that would make Mirajane, Elfman and Lisanna sad. That wasn't the kind person they knew their brother to be. In respect to them he tried his best to remain that way. But it wasn't easy.

The villagers hearing his almost berserker like scream could only feel one thing from him.

Death.

They immediately began to run away as if they saw the Devil himself.

The moment they were gone Shirou let go of his swords and fell to his knees, his broken face starring at the cloudy sky.

As if the nature itself was feeling his pain and sadness, a violent rain began pouring over the land.

His face cringed as he felt the rain caress it. He gripped his head with his hands, so hard that where his nails landed, blood would pour out.

Only two things could be heard outside by the villagers. The sound of endless rain, and the cries and screams of a devastated brother.

* * *

 **Part 2 – A wondering sword**

* * *

''Man today sure is boring.'' A man sitting in a chair next to a large number of prison cells commented. ''I wish something interesting would happen.''

As if magically responding to his desire, a man opened the large wooden doors of the room and entered.

He was a tall man. He was wearing a pair of black leather pants, a pair of matching black gloves and shoes with metal covered tips, a long red coat over his upper side of the body and had his head covered by a hood attached to the coat. His face seemed to be covered in old grey bandages, the only visible part that one could see was his piercing steel grey eyes and a few locks of white hair that peeked from under the hood. Most interesting was the fact that he held a long chain in his left hand.

The man jumped from his seat the moment he saw who it was. ''Oh my, oh my. If it ins't mister Emiya, for what do I owe the pleasure today?'' The man greeted him enthusiastically as his rubbed his hands. If there was one thing he knew was that the man in front of him was best client.

He barely took notice of the man and began dragging the chains that he was holding. The closer he got to the man, the more the other side of the chain was revealed. Attached to the other end were about ten men tied very strongly with a large number of chains, each man sporting a large number of cut wounds, all very injured men, but alive nonetheless.

''Could my eyes be deceiving me?'' the man pinched himself as he saw the faces of the men. ''Those are the famous Black Claw gang. They had bounties on their heads for years and nobody has ever captured even one of them, and yet you capture all ten. How did you manage to do it?''

''I was lucky.'' Emiya commented uninterested as he shoved the men into an empty cell.

''Of course.'' The man nodded. ''The best bounty hunter in Fiore certainly must be a man of great luck.''

Emiya tried to resist the urge to snort at his comment. ''Do you have anything new for me?'' he asked the man who was counting the jewels he was about to receive.

The man handed him the bag with jewels and sighed in shame. ''Unfortunately I don't have any new targets that might interest you, I'm sorry.''

''I see.'' He commented uninterested as he turned around and tried to leave.

''Wait!'' the man stopped him. Emiya curiously turned to see what he wanted. ''I remembered something rather interesting. Are you still investigating the disappearances involving the Zeref sect?'' the man asked him, this time he was serious.

This peaked Emiya's interest. ''Yes, but I haven't been able to find any clues.'' He admitted dryly.

''Well I might just have what you've been looking for.'' The man smiled exited as he took out and placed a map in front of them. ''Turns out that one of my old informers saw a group of Zeref followers loading a large number of slaves right around the coast of the Caelum Kingdom.'' The man pointed at the seashore on the map.

Emiya narrowed his eyes as he analysed the map. ''Clever. Those waters are known to be rather dangerous, and the magic council wouldn't go snooping around there unless they had solid evidence. Since the other shores are usually guarded they couldn't take them there without being detected, it must mean that they are taking the slaves somewhere in the sea.''

''The only available location would be this island here.'' Emiya pointed on the small island in the middle of the ocean.

''That island used to an abandoned mineral deposit. After it ran dry years ago and it was closed. No wonder no one bother to search there. The place is literally deserted.'' The man nodded as he understood.

''Finally.'' Emiya nodded as he got up and began walking.

''I still don't see why you are trying so hard to find them. Those cultists spell only trouble and I hardly think you can earn anything by annihilating them.'' Emiya simply left and ignored him. ''Tsk. As stingy as always.''

* * *

Emiya walked out of the prison and looked up the sky, it's raining. Just like a year ago.

He sighed as he began walking in the rain. Emiya, or rather Shirou Emiya hated the rain.

A year has passed since his siblings have died. A year has passed since he left that old village and went on an endless journey.

Without anything left to keep him there, without any family to support, he simply began wondering the country without any clear goal in his mind.

At first he was simply traveling, helping people on his way and continuing his travel.

To travel however one needed money. He considered entering a guild, but he gave up on the idea. He wasn't really cut for it. So he became a third rate bounty hunter. Why a third rate one?

He wasn't really doing it as a living so to say, but rather to not starve himself as he went on his journey. By dumb luck, the so called targets that he usually captured were some pretty big fish in the criminal world and he immediately gained a reputation, people calling him the best bounty hunter of Fiore.

The irony is that he didn't even try to be a bounty hunter in the first place.

Whenever he had to declare himself when he turned in the criminals, he would present himself as Emiya, nothing more, nothing less. He felt that he lost the right to call himself Shirou Strauss the moment his siblings died. In a sense it could be said that Shirou Strauss did die when he fell in the ravine.

Broken and bitter he tried to hang on whatever he could find in his soul. There was nothing left for Shirou Strauss to hang onto. There were only swords left that only Shirou Emiya could grab onto.

Shirou wondered if the world loved to be ironic with people. It was just like in his former life. The only family he had was gone, and he was all alone. Everything was gone because of a fire.

If he had been only more careful, if he could have healed faster, if he never went on the hunt in the first place, perhaps they wouldn't had to die. Even if Mira did get possessed by a demon, perhaps he could've save her.

But it was already too late. They were dead. The only thing he could do now was hang onto whatever he could find.

One thing was to destroy the Zeref cults. On his travels he kept stumbling upon branches of the said cult of the black wizard Zeref, an almost god like individual in this world.

Whenever he found something related to him, it was always the same. Pain, misery and death.

Anything related to that man brought only pain and misery, while he is presumably long dead, his dark legacies still remain, causing nothing but disaster.

Recently he heard rumors about one of the cults that are trying to revive him, and for that they need a lot of man power. Many cases of people disappearing, friends and families reporting that the cultist are the ones that abducted them.

Without any solid evidence the council couldn't do proper investigation. Also if the governmental systems were as corrupt as they were back home, Shirou wouldn't be surprised if the reason why they couldn't find the cultists is because some person with a high position has been covering after them.

If justice had to be done, he had to take things into his own hands... and so he shall.

* * *

Shirou now understood why no one found the sect on the island before. It seems that the island had some sort of barrier or bounded field that caused an illusion. From the boat one would see just a deserted island, but when he stepped on it he would see what it truly was. A tower was being constructed in the middle of the island.

Shirou now knew why the slaves were needed. The sheer size of the tower would require hundreds of people and many years to complete.

He scanned the island and the tower. There were quite the number of enemies and slave beasts to deal with.

As much as he wanted to just drop in and finish everything, attacking now would be reckless and stupid. It would endanger the slave's life's way too much.

Even though his most appropriate class would be that of an archer. He needed to act as an Assassin.

* * *

It was night, the perfect time to act. Shirou was sitting in a tree close to the tower. He waited until the moon was covered in clouds and everything was perfectly dark.

It was time.

He summoned his bow and took aim. Three quick shots. Three dead guards were now lying on the ground.

He dashed towards the entrance. He picked the bodies and hid them in a nearby bush. It would buy him more time if the guards were missing than found dead at the entrance, preventing the guards from setting of the alarm.

He was lurking around in the shadows inside of the tunnels. Slowly and carefully, concealing his presence. There were times when he encountered guards in the tunnels. A quick leap behind them and a swift knife slash on in their throats and he was done. He descended into the lower parts of the tower where the prisoners were held. He knew this from a guard who was kind enough to talk after Shirou snapped three of his fingers.

Shirou stopped in front of a cell where a single red-haired girl was lying on the ground. He entered the cell and picked her up. His eyes widen as he saw the state the poor girl was.

She was Mira's age... or at least she would have been if she was still alive. But her body... so many fractures, bruises, cuts, and lacerations. The most disturbing one was her right eye... it was ripped out of her very socket. This girl was tortured half death.

Now he felt no regret for killing those guards.

He quickly projected a copy of Avalon and implanted in her. But that wasn't going to be enough, so he took a small vile out of his pocket and opened it. He placed the mouth of the bottle on the girl's lips, allowing her to drink the liquid inside of it.

A small glow covered the girl as she drank it. Some of lighter wounds became less accentuated. Healing potions in this world weren't as powerful as Avalon, but on the other hand they had a spread effect, so drinking one would allow for a person to heal multiple wounds at the same time. While not strong enough to regenerate a missing eye, or major wounds, it worked very fast. Plus by reinforcing it, it worked even faster.

The girl slowly opened her good eye and looked upon the man who was holding her in his arms.

She didn't understood what was going on. The man wasn't a guard or part of the cult judging by his clothes. ''W-Who a-are you?'' she asked in a tired and strained voice. This girl has been screaming for a long time.

''Just a simple bowman.'' He told her gently as he patted her head in an attempt to calm her down. ''I'm here to rescue you,''

The girl was clearly too scared to move. ''I know it's difficult but please believe in me.'' He lowered himself to her level, she could see his eyes hidden under his hood. ''I will get you and the others out of here.''

She was scared. After everything that she went through she was too scared to stand up and fight. She just wanted everything to go away, the pain the fear that this God forsaken place was causing her.

She was too scared to stand up for herself... and yet... looking at this mysterious man's eyes... was giving her courage. She was trembling so hard but she managed to get up and stand. ''I w-will go.'' She told him slowly, but Shirou could see steel determination in her only eye.

''What's your name?'' Shirou asked her curiously.

''E-Erza.'' She responded to him.

''Noted. Erza can you guide me to where the other prisoners are?'' he asked her slowly and calm, the red haired girl nodding slowly.

When they reached the cells and saw the prisoners, Shirou felt his blood boil. So many men, women and children all dressed in rags, their bodies covered in dirt and wounds.

He reinforced his body and ripped off the lock that was holding the old steel bars. He told Erza to watch out for guards while he freed the other prisoners.

Everyone in the cell looked in fear at the new person to arrive in the cell, Shirou could tell by the looks in their eyes that they have been abused to a degree where they would fear anyone that entered the cell on reflex.

He walked to one of the children that was cuffed. The boy wanted to take a step back but the wall was blocking him. He instinctively closed his eyes and was preparing for pain.

He heard a snapping sound, but there was no pain. He opened his eyes and saw that the man broke his bindings.

Shirou turned around proceeded to do the same to all the other prisoners. The boy didn't understand why he was doing that. There were still a few hours before the shift began and the guards usually use keys not broke the cuffs. Shirou walked next to the entrance and looked at them. ''Anyone who wishes for freedom follow me. I will break you out of this hell and give it back to you.'' he declared strongly to them, trying to emulate Saber as much as he could. He may not have her charisma, but he did learn a thing or two from her.

The people were all silent.

Was this real? Had their prayers finally been answered? Had salvation finally arrived?

They were in truth very reluctant to believe it. Many of them had the seeds of despair too deeply rooted in their minds to have the courage to follow him. Many even gave up trying to hope and simply accepted that they will die here.

The boy was the first one to step forward. ''C-Can you really free us?'' he asked nervously as he looked at Shirou's impressive stature.

''Only if you have the courage to follow me.'' He told the boy with a neutral tone, hard to figure if it was kind or cold. It also didn't help that Shirou's face was covered and it obstructed any facial expressions.

His words felt like a warm flame inside of a frozen room. One by one they began following him, even the ones that were to scared managed to find the courage to stand up.

When they exited the cell many of the inmates were disturbed by the state Erza was, but many of them were glad that she was still alive.

They quickly ran through the tunnels. Freeing everybody on their way, Shirou killing any guards that they encountered, they were almost done, they could almost taste freedom.

Erza realized something as she looked around the freed prisoners. Someone was missing.

''Jellal!'' she screamed in realization, the girl looking as she was about to have a panic attack. This got Shirou's attention.

''Erza what's wrong?'' he asked as he gripped her shoulders to calm her down.

''I-It's my friend. They took him earlier to the torture room. You have to save him!'' she desperately demanded from her hooded savior.

He took a second and analysed the situation. They were close to the exit, but the risk of the guards finding them was still pretty high, and if they find them without Shirou with them, they will be killed instantly.

They needed protection.

He extended his hands forward. He tapped into his reality marble and searched for proper weapons.

In the next moment dozens of weapons were projected and stabbed in the ground. Everyone present stared in shock as Shirou made the weapons appear out of thin air. ''Anyone who can hold a weapon take whatever you can carry. Run to the west coast, and hide in the woods until dawn, if I'm not back by then take the boat there and go. I have one more person to save.''

The people were a little reluctant but they did as they were told. One by one they took a weapon and ran to the exit.

When Shirou was ready to go back he noticed that someone didn't leave. ''What are you doing?''

''I'm c-coming with you.'' Erza told him as she gripped on the sword she picked.

''I can't guarantee that I can protect you while saving your friend.'' He informed her, trying to scare her a little so she could go with the others.

''I don't care. He is my friend, I need to save him!'' She told him with determination.

When he saw the determination on her face, Shirou sighed. Just what he needed, a girl as stubborn as him. ''Fine, but never leave my side.''

''Yes!''

* * *

''Who the hell are yo-aghh!'' the guard was silenced with a sword in his throat.

Erza was keeping her eye closed, as per Shirou's request. Just because she was used to seeing pain and death, didn't mean that a girl her age should watch people getting killed.

Shirou kicked the door of the torture room open. Inside there were three people, two of them were members of the cult with a high rank judging by their clothes. The third was a boy around Erza's age, with blue hair and a red tattoo under his right eye.

Again Shirou felt his blood boil as he saw the state the boy was. He was being tortured just like Erza was, though his wounds weren't as deep as hers were.

He didn't waste any time and projected the nameless chained dagger of Medusa. A quick throw to the side and a small flick of the chains was enough to encircle the two men and tie them up. A dash forward and Shirou was right behind them. Two quick chops on napes of their necks and the men were unconscious before having the time to talk back. He will need these two bastards later.

Shirou projected a knife and cut the ropes that were keeping the boy suspended in the air. Erza rushed at his side immediately and hold his body.

''Jellal!'' Shirou looked as the small scarlet haired girl cried while holding her injured friend. ''Jellal come on wake up. We can finally escape this place!''

The boy's body twitched slightly. ''E...E... E-Erza?'' he mumbled under his breath, his eyes concealed under his bangs.

''Yes, it's me. Jellal this man has freed us, all we have to do is leave the island and we will be free.'' The scarlet haired girl beamed happily as she saw that her old friend was still alive.

He put his hands around Erza's body, hugging her tightly. ''There's no need to run away.'' He whispered in a distorted voice, one that Erza never heard before from the boy. ''I finally realized it. Truth freedom can't be found in this world.'' A wicked grin formed on his face. ''It can be only found in Zeref's world!''

''Get away from him.'' Shirou pushed Erza aside and pinned Jellal against the wall.

''Let go of me! I heard Zeref's whispers, he will bring true freedom to this world and I will help him!'' Jellal demanded with a face that shouldn't have been possible for a young boy to have, such malice and rage.

Streams of magic flooded from Jellal, acting like a sharp blade and cutting Shirou in several places on his arm. It didn't made the faker flinch one bit.

Shirou didn't know what exactly had happened to him, but he could smell the magic covering the boy. Something was possessing him, something was making him hear the voice of Zeref. He didn't know if it was the real ghost of Zeref or something caused him to believe that, but he needed to be cleansed of its temptation before his mind was warped beyond repair.

Shirou quickly project an odd looking iridescent and jagged dagger and pierced Jellal's body with its tip. Erza wanted to scream and stop him, but froze when she saw a stream of purple light erupting from the puncture point.

Jellal screamed as he felt something being ripped out of his body. He stopped as the light vanished.

Shirou let go of him and his body crashed against the floor. He let out a sigh as he made Rule Breaker disappear. He wasn't sure if the dagger of Medea would work on possessions, but he didn't have time to do tests. Possession in a sense was bounding the essence of a non-physical existence, to a living creature, a type of link or contract between the two of them. So considering that Rule Breaker has the power to erase all forms of magical base abilities, contracts and enhancements, it was the perfect choice.

''W-What did you do? Why can't I hear Zeref's voice anymore?'' Jellal demanded from the hooded man.

''You were being possessed, I simply freed you from its influence.'' Shirou shrugged his shoulders as if it wasn't too big of a deal.

''Give him back! He promised me that he will give us all true freedom! He will change this cruel world!'' Jellal begged as he pulled Shirou's cape.

Shirou grabbed the boy by the jaw and lifted him up, he close the distance between them so Jellal could see the cold eyes hidden under his hood. ''Do you even know what you are asking boy?'' his tone was cold and sharp, just like a blade. ''You have been laboring under the so called Zeref sect and you want to become one of them?''

Shirou looked at Erza who was scared by his sudden cold tone. ''Erza, come here for a second.''

The small girl nodded and got closer. Shirou let go of Jellal and got behind Erza. He took off the eye patch on her right side and lifted her hair, revealing the gruesome and disgusting wound hidden under them. ''Do you see this?'' Shirou asked Jellal in a cold tone. ''This is the work of the people who followed Zeref.''

Jellal averted his eyes. ''Don't look away!'' Shirou was cruel to make a boy look at such gore, but he needed a shock to truly understand what was going on. Sometimes what the world needed wasn't a hero, but rather a villain.

''Can you honestly look at her, at your so called friend, at what they did to her and tell me that you want to become like them?'' Shirou demanded from the stunned boy.

''I-I-I...'' he couldn't find the words to retort. He didn't understand what was going on anymore.

''If you will tell me that you want to become one of the followers of that damn dead man, that you want to become a man who would kill innocents for rituals, rape women and children to show your dedication, or slash innocent people and let them bleed to death on altars as offerings.'' Shirou gritted his teeth as he remembered the actions of such followers of Zeref, so many death and suffering in the name of a dead man. He saw way too much in this lone year that he traveled. ''If you tell me that you want to become like them, then I will kill you right here and now before you dye your hands in innocent blood.''

Jellal was scared. He felt like he was starring death itself in the eyes. He was shaking so violently, his heart felt like it will stop the moment he made a wrong move. He was so scared that he didn't notice that Erza was now holding him.

''Erza.'' Shirou began, his voice was cold. ''Step aside.''

''NO!'' she screamed in fear, pulling Jellal closer to her chest. ''As much as I feel indebted to you for saving all of us, I won't let you kill my friend.''

Just like that.

As if the lights have been turned on, Jellal realized what he was about to do. He wanted to destroy the boats to keep them all here and blame Erza for it, claim the tower and make the slaves complete it. What kind of monster was he about to turn into? Was he really about to hurt the people he cared about? Was he really about to make Erza suffer?

He gripped on her arms, unable to keep his tears back. ''E-Erza... I'm sorry... I'm so sorry... I don't know what came over me.''

The girl didn't say nothing and just hugged her old friend. The one that was always there for her.

Shirou looked at them and sighed. He really had a weak spot for kids and their tears. He could figure Jellal's affiliations later, now he needed to take them to safety.

He grabbed both kids and held them with his left arm, using his right one to drag the two men after them.

* * *

The slaves were scared. It was almost sunrise and their saviour was nowhere to be found. Many of the slaves wanted to leave now and never look back, but many also insisted to wait for the masked man.

They all heard a weird sound, like something being dragged. They all raised the weapons from Shirou and were preparing for battle.

They gave up the prospect of fighting when they saw who it was. ''Erza! Jellal!'' many of the children ran towards them as they saw that their friends were ok.

Many of the people present were confused and angry to why Shirou was dragging two of the wardens here. ''Why did you bring those two?'' one of the people asked, the indignation and hate was visible in his voice.

''Information. You aren't the only victims of the Zeref cult. They might have knowledge about other places like this, where other people are treated just like you were. Plus I need proof of what happened here.'' Shirou explained with a shrug.

The hooded man went to the boat and took out medical supplies. ''The lesser injured people tend to the ones with grave wounds.''

As much as he wanted to give each and every one of them a copy of Avalon, he couldn't. Even though he was in a different world some of the rules about magecraft from his world still applied to him. One of them is that spreading the usage of a spell will make it lose it value. So projecting multiple copies of Avalon would only make them weaker with each new copy, and Erza needed to be healed more than any of them.

Shirou took a look at the tower as an alarm began ringing, he could hear from here the enraged screams of the guards. They must have noticed that the prisoners escaped. He didn't want anyone to follow them as he wasn't sure if he could protect everyone present.

He had to get rid of the problem.

He took a step forward and extended his arm, searching in his reality marble for a certain weapon.

Erza noticed his actions and couldn't help but ask. ''W-What are you gonna do?''

''End this nightmare once and for all.'' He declared as red spear appeared in his hand.

Erza wasn't an expert on weapons, but she could feel a cold shiver caused by the weapon. Like it was screaming for blood itself, like a hungry beast ready to be released out of its cage.

Shirou dashed forward. He then jumped backwards, now hanging a few meters in the air.

 **''GAE-''** he slowly began, the spear in his hand erupting in a stream of red energy. He took aim reinforcing his eyesight, the tower was an about two kilometers away, he aimed for the opened gate at the base of the tower. He took the moment and overloaded the spear with mana, turning it into a broken phantasm. The muscles in his right arm tensed and swollen so much that it threaten to rip off the cloth on his arm. The tip of the spear was bathed in so much malicious red energy that it made it look like a beast escaped from hell. He launched it. **''BOLG!''**

Many of the people present wondered if he had a cannon rather than an arm by how fast and powerful the spear was thrown. No one was able to keep track of the spear as it disappeared in the air. They didn't understood what happened until they heard a colossal explosion.

Gae Bolg was indeed an interesting weapon. While it had an Anti-Army form, its destructive capabilities could also be classified as Anti-Fortress. It was capable of shattering all the seven layers of Rho Aias after all, and each layer had the strength of a fortress. So erasing a tower was a child play for the Hound of Ulster's legendary spear. Especially a modified broken phantasm version of it.

There was now silence. The alarms and screams of the guards were now gone.

They all stared in awe at the tower. The place they suffered and labored until exhaustion. The place where they saw many people get abused and killed. The place that robbed them of their life and freedom.

It was crumbling in flames. It was disappearing little by little with each passing moment. The fires and smoke slowly dispersed, filing the sky with smoke.

The tower was gone.

It was gone.

Their nightmare was gone.

They could never go back because it was no more.

They were free.

Shirou stretched his arm as it felt sore from throwing Gae Bolg. How did Cu Chulainn throw it and not be affect at all, he couldn't help but wonder.

He walked back to the boat and took a look at the people's faces. They all broke in tears as it was finally over. All men, women and children cried in joy as the place that cause them so much suffering was gone.

''I-It's finally over...'' An old man whispered with glee in his eyes. ''Finally... I can finally...'' the old man crashed to the ground.

Everyone went quickly to his side. ''Grandpa Rob!'' many of the children screamed as they saw his fallen form.

Many of the children ran to Shirou. ''Please save him!'' they begged their hooded savior.

Shirou performed a quick structural analysis on his body to see what was wrong. ''W-What the hell?'' He froze as he saw his body's state. ''Your body... your bones... your organs... you should have died years ago, how the hell are you even alive?''

''Can you do anything? Can you save him?'' many were asking Shirou with desperate pleads.

''I'm sorry. He is beyond help. The fact that he is still alive with that body is nothing short of a miracle. '' Shirou bitterly admitted.

''I-Its o-ok.'' the man whispered tiredly. ''I-I'm glad... that the children are finally free. M-My hope that salvation will arrived one day kept me alive. I couldn't die b-before knowing that the children were safe... and now that it arrived, I can f-finally rest.'' The man's breath was unstable, his voice getting weaken by the minute.

''Y-You can't die grandpa. You can finally return to the friends you told us stories about.'' One of the children cried while grabbing on the old man.

''Y-Youngster.'' He gestured to Shirou, stretching his old trembling hands towards him. The later kneeling next to the old man. The old man grabbed his hand and pulled him closer. ''I-I know you already did m-more that we can ever r-repay for, but I h-have a request. Many of the c-children don't have anywhere to return too, so p-please take them to my old friend. He is the m-master of the Fairy Tail g-guild in Magnolia, tell him that Rob sent you, he will take care of them, but please I b-beg you... make sure that they arrive safe there.''

The hooded boy could only stare in awe at the man. Even though he is dying, he isn't begging for help for his sake, but for the sake others. Shirou could somehow see himself in the man's eyes. A feeling of empathy surging through him.

''You can be at ease old man. I was planning to take them somewhere safe to begin with.'' Shirou told him as he gripped his hand.

''C-Can I ask of your name?'' Rob exhaled painfully, time was running out.

Shirou was silent for a few moments, he got up from his knee. ''Shirou... Shirou Emiya.'' He whispered in an uncertain tone.

''T-Thank you... Shirou Emiya. '' Rob whispered as his final moments ran out.

Everyone broke in tears as their old friend passed away. Shirou stepped to the side and let them mourn their loss. With the exception of Rob, he saved them all. He freed them all... and yet he didn't feel any happiness or fulfillment from it.

He never did.

* * *

 **Part 3 – Tears of rusted sword**

* * *

The aftermath of the whole rescue mission sure gave Shirou a lot of headaches. No matter what the world he hated making declarations and go through interrogations.

He had to explain everything he did, from how he found out about the sect location, to why he acted alone and not inform the authorities first.

Truthfully he had some doubts when it came to the council doing its job properly. He speculated that if he informed them, they might have told him that they will take care of it, while in truth the would only cover up everything.

He had a keen sense of smell when it came to corruption. He couldn't risk something of this scale to go untreated, he had to take matters into his own hands.

The magic council officials then interrogated every single former slave, and boy they were many.

It took about a week before everything was done and Shirou could now concentrate on keeping his promise to Rob and take the kids to Fairy Tail.

While he was having doubts about taking care of so many children on the road, they somehow eased up when he saw the actual number of kids who will follow him. There were many kids, that can't be denied, but only a small number of them didn't have a home to return to.

After everything was said and done Shirou now had to take eleven kids to Fairy Tail. Besides Erza and Jellal, the other kids were Macbeth, Erik, Richard, Sorano, Sawyer, Simon, Sho, Wally and Millianna.

Each one of them was an interesting case so to say.

Turns out that Wally and Richard were in fact brothers and were not aware that they were both in the same tower. Both of them were incarcerated on different levels and had different workings hours. They both broke in tears when they found each other on the boat.

Macbeth was a silent kid that suffered from nightmares due to abuse he suffered. Luckily for him, Shirou managed to brew him a potion that managed to calm him. Though it wasn't really much of a potion, just a good mix of tea that had a calming effect.

Erik had a pet snake that he was taking care of and was talking to. Shirou couldn't help but feel an unusual feeling from the snake, but decided to check later.

Millianna seemed to have an unusual obsession with cats. In fact she begged Shirou to catch her a cat that sleeping in a nearby tree.

Sawyer had a habit of running instead of walking. Shirou believe that he was just enjoying the feeling of freedom.

Sho was a bit of a cry baby, but overall a good kid.

Now Shirou could be mistaken since romantic matters were never his things, but he had the distinctive feeling that Simon might have a thing for Erza.

Sorano was... let's just say that Shirou didn't feel very comfortable around her. She wasn't a bad girl or had any particular behavior that made Shirou try to keep contact with her minimal, it was just that she resembled Mira and Lisanna too much. Looking at her made Shirou remember his failure to protect them. It didn't help that the girl was constantly trying to spend time with Shirou.

Jellal developed a sense of debt to Shirou. He was too scared to imagine what he could've done to his friends if Shirou didn't open his eyes. He couldn't have forgiven himself if he hurt Erza.

Finally Erza became something like a faithful puppy to Shirou. Seriously, the girl was always on his back trying to help him out with whatever she could.

Who could blame her? The image of Shirou standing tall and proud as the winds created from the explosion of the tower blew in his coat was really awe inspiring.

Unfortunately all of them were deeply scared by how they lived in the tower. They would have nightmares during the night, they avoided asking for food, they would always ask Shirou permission for everything even going to the bathroom.

Who could blame the small children? People who spent their lives in imprisonment and slavery would have a long time to adjust to freedom.

It was something that Shirou had to help them learn again.

Shirou sighed as he rested his body against a tree. It's been already a week since his journey to Fairy Tail began. It certainly isn't easy taking care of eleven kids, but it was still a bit nice to have someone around while he traveled.

His eyes gazed upon the kids sleeping around the fire. Shirou was glad that he kept raising money out of habit, he couldn't let them travel in those rags that they were made to wear. Shopping was a bit difficult, but at least they all now had proper clothes and didn't look like slaves anymore.

He was really tired, his eyes slowly closed. They snapped back open when he heard a crack sound next to him. He projected Kanshou and pointed it at the person next to him.

''Whoaa!'' Erza stumbled back and fell on her back from the scare.

Shirou did a blink-blink motion as he looked at the girl. He sighed tiredly as he saw what he just did. ''Sorry Erza, old habit.''

''N-No it's ok...'' she admit a bit embarrassed.

''Why are you sneaking around?'' he asked her a bit curious.

Erza's gaze fell on the spilled soup she was carrying. ''You made this delicious food, but you didn't eat with us so I thought...''

''Yeah... sorry, I made a habit of skipping meals. Sometimes I even forget that I'm hungry.'' Shirou admitted tiredly.

''That isn't good for your health.'' Erza commented.

''Perhaps.'' Shirou admitted uninterested.

Erza sighed as she looked at her savior. Truth be told she can't really seem to understand him, while the time they spent together was short, she could see that he was a kind person, and yet he just didn't seem to be happy no matter what he did.

She kept starring at his hooded face. Shirou noticed this. ''Is something wrong?'' he asked.

This startled her. ''Y-Yes, I mean n-no, I mean...'' she almost bit her tongue out of embarrassment.

Shirou sighed, he really didn't understood women and children. ''Calm down, I'm not gonna bite your head off. If you have something on your mind just say it.''

Erza was silent for a few moments, using them to gather courage. ''C-Can I see your face?''

Shirou was confused. He pointed towards himself. ''My face?'' the girl nodded. ''Why?''

''It's just... you always wear that hood and those bandages, and I'm curious how you look.'' Erza admited to him.

He looked confused at her for a few moments. He recognized that look in her eyes, the same puppy dog eyes that Lisanna used on him whenever she wanted something.

Unfortunately he didn't have any weapons to protect him against them. He doubts that even Avalon at its full strength would protect him. He gave in to her request.

He unbuttoned the part of the coat at the neck. He then unfolded the bandages around his face. Finally he took of his hood, revealing his face fully.

Erza wasn't expecting this, she was expecting scars, a disfigured face, perhaps a burned face. She expected a physical reason to why hid his face. But this... ''You're y-young...'' she muttered as she stared at his spiky white hair, his tanned skin and his steel grey eyes. She had to admit that she wasn't expecting someone so young and handsome.

''Why wouldn't I be?'' Shirou tilted his head confused.

''N-No, I mean you fight like a warrior who has trained for decades, you have this mature aura around you, and you are always appear rather tired. So we all assumed that you were in your forties at the very least.'' Erza elaborated a bit embarrassed.

''Sorry to disappoint you all, I'm just eighteen.'' He scratched the back of his head a bit awkward.

''What?!'' she shouted I'm shock. ''You are just five years older than me and you are this strong?!''

''I'm not really that strong. I just happen to be experienced.'' He admit a bit reluctant. He wasn't exaggerating however, both in this and his previous world there are a lot of being that could pretty much squash Shirou like a bug.

''But you seemed so strong... you even looked like a hero.'' Erza told him with half a voice.

This was enough to change Shirou's mood. ''Erza... even if the whole world recognized me as a hero, I will never acknowledge myself as one.'' He admitted with a bitter tone.

''W-Why?'' she asked confused.

''There was a time when I wanted to protect everyone, not caring about myself, not finding any true value in myself or in what I did, just following the path that I believed in, never once faltering, never once advancing, never once understood.'' A melancholic smile formed on his lips. ''Then it somehow happened, I finally found something I wanted to protect no matter what, something to fight for, standing against the world itself if it was necessary, but... I failed to protect them. '' he let out a bitter sigh as he began bandaging his face again. ''So even if the world considered me a hero, I will never consider myself one. After all... what kind of hero fails to protect his little siblings when they were his only light?'' he asked, not Erza particularly, but rather himself.

''Is that why you're hiding your face?'' she asked confused.

She was sharp kid, Shirou could admit that. ''Yeah... I never really cared about how I looked, but nowadays looking at my face is difficult... makes me feel bitter.''

Shirou was at a crossroad. Not understanding what he wants anymore. To him becoming a hero of justice was his dream, a dream that might be possible in this time and age, but it was a dream he wasn't even sure he wanted anymore. He felt emptier than ever before.

For what was he even going on for?

He was so lost in thought that he didn't notice that Erza was now hugging him. He was confused. ''What are you doing Erza?'' he asked in a calm tone yet intrigued tone.

''You looked so sad.'' She said in an almost tearful tone. ''I don't what kind of life you had, or how it all went on, I don't even know what kind of people your siblings were, but I believe that they would be sad to see you like this. You told us that we need courage to live on, but you aren't listening to your own advice.''

Shirou didn't know what to say. To say that this little girl had more resolve in her single eye than he had was an understatement. He could see something in her, something that reminded him of his precious King of Knights.

Her words hit him hard. They weren't strong enough to break through him, but they were enough to make him see that he can't continue living like this. He may never find anything worth to protect, he may never find the same happiness that he felt with Mira, Lisanna and Elfman, but the least he could do for their sake was to not give up.

He may wonder these lands for the rest of his life, but he should at least try to find some new meaning with it.

Shirou let out a tired chuckle, he couldn't remember the last time he laughed. He patted Erza on the head. ''You're a good kid, you know that?''

Erza's face was now as red as her hair was. She didn't expect such a development, she certainly didn't enjoy the way his fingers felt through her hair, not one bit, but she would have probably beat up anyone who interrupted them.

She looked up to protest at him, but stopped when she saw that Shirou fell asleep. His expression was the most peaceful one she ever saw from him. She snuggled up to him and slept next to him.

Needless to say that things were pretty chaotic the next morning.

Dealing with a jealous Jellal, Simon and Sorano proved very tiring for Shirou.

* * *

''Finally.'' Shirou whispered to himself as he stared at the Fairy Tail guild. It sure was a long way to Magnolia, it was also really tiring to take care of a group of eleven kids, but it was worth it. They were all good kids and they needed a place to take care of them.

''Say Shirou...'' Erza pulled his sleeve getting the sword wielders attention. ''Now that we're here... what will you do?''

''Not sure to be honest.'' He admitted with a sigh. He originally thought of dropping the kids here and then go back on his journey, but after a while he wasn't sure what to do anymore. It didn't help that Erza was looking at him in a 'please don't go' fashion. It also didn't help that the other children were looking at Shirou with the same look. Even if their time was short, and they were a bit scared of Shirou at first, they grew attached to the white haired man. He was their savior after all. ''Maybe I will stay in Magnolia for a while to figure things out.''

Their faces all brightened up when they heard those words form their hooded friend.

''But for now I have a promise to keep.'' He told them as he opened the doors to the guild hall.

Shirou wasn't expecting the guild hall to be so 'lively'. It was only noon and yet many of the people were drinking and celebrating. There were quite a number of different types of wizards here from what Shirou could deduce. His nose was feeling quite the variety of magic forms around.

He walked quietly in the guild, throwing a look to the left and right. He considered asking some of the older men where the master was, but they seemed a bit too drunk to be reliable. There were also a lot of kids around but he decided to not interrupt their fun.

He spotted a boy around his age with spiky blond hair and a scar running down his right eye. He seemed to be listening to music a pair of headphones while staring bored at the people in the guild.

''Excuse me.'' Shirou gestured to the blond boy, getting his attention he took off his headphones. ''Is master Makarov around?''

''Gramps?'' he looked at Shirou for a few moments, not getting the best impression from him since he was surround by a bunch of kids and had an assassin looking get up, but he was also bored, so he could use some entertained. ''Sure, he should be around here. Hey gramps! There's a punk and some brats looking for you!'' the blond shouted rather strongly, getting the attention of many of the guild members.

Shirou tried to ignore the punk and brats parts. He looked above where he heard a tapping sound. He saw someone on the railing of the second floor, an old man no bigger than Erza, he was dressed in some clothes reminiscent of a gnome. He also had a thick white mustache.

The next moment the old man jumped and did a back flip in the air. The funny part was when the old landed he slipped and fell flat on his face.

Shirou was about to ask the old man if he was alright, but he stopped the moment the old man got himself up and jumped on the counter in front of him.

''Howdy!'' he greeted Shirou with a raised hand. ''I'm master Makarov, for what do I owe the visit?''

Shirou looked at the old man, while his physical appearance didn't display much strength, Shirou could feel a great magical power emanating from him. This man really was a guild master.

Shirou decided to get down to business. ''I'm here on behalf of an old friend of yours. Rob sent me here.''

The old man's goofy and carefree smile vanished and got replaced by a serious one. ''How about we talk this at the bar?''

* * *

''I see...'' Makarov nodded sadly as he heard everything that happened from Shirou, about how he rescued the prisoners, about how Rob died, and about his last request. ''He disappeared years ago, I honestly believed he got himself killed or died in some random place. To think that all this time he was slave in that tower.'' He gripped hard the jug he was holding. ''Somehow it suits him to refuse to die until he knew that everyone was safe, that's the kind of person that bastard Rob was.'' Makarov took a jug and shove all of the alcohol in one go.

Shirou was serving just a glass of juice. He never was a drinking kind of guy.

''So I take it that those are the kids he asked you to bring here?'' the old man gestured to the kids that were now talking to the kids that were part of the guild.

''Yeah... there were many kids among the slaves, but the ones that I brought don't have any home or family left to return to. They might be a bit difficult, but they are good kids, so I will ask you to take care of them.'' Shirou bowed his head respectfully to the old man, just because Rob said that Makarov could take care of them, there was the matter of him wanting to do it.

Makarov stared at the hooded man, his eyes were narrowed on his every move, his body language, the tone of his voice. He could see that Shirou had genuine concerned for the kids. Makarov chuckled. ''You know when I saw you, I instantly knew who you were mister Emiya. That made me be rather careful about you. No offence, but your reputation isn't the best one a man could have.''

Shirou cringed at his words, this was one of the reason he hated his mercenary status. ''I have a lot of acquaintances that are part of the magic council and I'm usually at the day with the rumors and such. A cruel and pragmatic wizard, a greedy bowmen, a man without any sense of morality, a hunter that brings his targets half dead or crippled for life. Those are the kind of things I hear about you.'' the old man closed one his eyes and used the open one to stare at Shirou.

''I don't deny any of those accusation.'' Shirou admitted with a sigh. ''I want to clarify some things however. I don't enjoy hurting or killing people, I despise it in fact. It's just that sometimes some people are beyond redemption and there are times that the only way you can save the majority is by killing a few. It's a twisted way of thinking, I know that more than anyone else, but in order for children like Erza and the others to live and be able to smile, one must be ready to taint his hands with blood. I guess the line between hero and villain is so paper thin that it's amusing.''

Makarov looked at him, he wasn't looking at the body in front of him, but rather the person in it. The old man chug down another beer. ''Who would've thought that the most dangerous mercenary in Fiore is nothing but a lonely and broken child.'' He commented with a sigh, what he was looking at wasn't some monster or greedy killer, he was just a boy who didn't had someone to support him in times of needs. ''Say, what would you think if I invited you to join Fairy Tail?''

Shirou almost chocked on his juice, he even got the bandages around his mouth wet. ''Are you serious?'' Shirou asked in disbelieve. ''You know about my reputation and the kind methods I use and you would still invite me?''

''I have seen many youngsters walk the wrong path, good kids turning into the most heinous of villains. I can tell that you are kind person, I saw it in the look of those kids you brought.'' Makarov explained as he took a quick look at Erza and the others. ''All I see when I look at you isn't a man who was tainted by the evils of this world, but rather a confused boy who is heading down a path of self-destruction. Solidarity is one of the most painful forms of torment, as much as you say you prefer it, one day it will consume you and you will suffer a lonely death.''

Somehow felt a little irony in his words. The way he described him was the way he did in his old world... all alone.

''I was taught here at Fairy Tail the value of comrades and family. As someone who holds on them and preaches about them, there's no way I can close my eyes to someone who is in desperate need of both of them.'' Makarov declared solemnly.

He couldn't help but wonder if he was right. Could this guild become his new home and fill the void in him. He opened his mouth to answer but he immediately closed it back. He didn't know what to choose.

''Take your time.'' Makarov told him in calm tone. ''Think about things properly and then give me your answer. Whenever you chose to join or not I won't further try to pursue you. It's your life after all, you yourself must decide what's best.''

''I... I will think about it.'' Shirou told him truthfully, perhaps a change of scenery might do him some good.

''Atta boy!'' Makarov patted him on the back. ''Come on, let's get you a real drink.''

''I'm not much of a drinker actually.'' Shirou admit bashfully.

Before Makarov could comment a pink haired boy around Erza's age cut in between them. ''Hey you! Hooded old man!'' the boy pointed to Shirou.

Shirou raised his hand and pointed to himself. Again wondering why someone thought he was old. Maybe he need to change his appearance. ''Me?''

''Yes, you!'' the boy smiled excited. ''Those kids you brought with you said you're really strong. Is that true?''

Shirou simply shrugged his shoulders. ''I might have won a fight or two.''

''Then, fight me!'' the boy grinned as his fist suddenly got enveloped in fire, surprisingly Shirou could feel the scent of a dragon on the boy.

''Now, now, Natsu. It's one thing to ask your guild mates for fights, but it's not nice to ask strangers to fight you.'' Makarov tried to pursue the pink haired boy.

''He's right you know.'' Shirou admitted with a sigh. ''Besides I don't like fighting kids.''

''Why you!'' Natsu leaped at him trying to punch him, but Shirou casually caught him by the head. It was fairly amusing to see as the young boy was struggling in the air to hit Shirou. When Natsu finally got tired of nibbling around Shirou threw him a little further away.

While Shirou threw him strategically to make the boy would land on his feet, Natsu seemed to have slipped on some ice lying on the floor. Now how did that get there?

''Sorry kid, but as I said I don't fight kids.'' Shirou told him with a sigh.

''Grrrr! Next time you won't be so lucky!'' Natsu protested from the floor.

''Yeah, yeah.'' Shirou waved his hand as he got his attention back to his glass of juice.

''Really Natsu, must you always challenge random people for a fight?'' A girl nagged at Natsu behavior. ''At this rate you won't get a girlfriend.''

When Shirou heard the girl's voice he froze, his hand losing its strength, the drink in it dropped and shattered on the floor. _''I-It can't be...''_ were his ears deceiving him?

There was no way she could be there... could it?

His heart felt like it stopped, his legs felt like they went soft, his breath was becoming unstable.

Makarov looked curios at the boy. To him it was looking like the hooded lad was having a heart attack.

Shirou instantly turned around and looked to where he dropped the pink haired boy.

''I-Impossible...'' he in disbelieve as he looked at the white haired girl next to Natsu.

''Oh shut up Lisanna!'' Natsu protested with a small blush on his face.

The two kids saw the way Shirou was staring at them. As if he was staring at a ghost.

Shirou's hand slowly extended upwards, his trembling finger pointing at the small girl. ''L-L-Lisanna?!'' disbelieve and shock were the only things that could hear in his voice.

The little girl titled her head confused. ''Yes, I am Lisanna?''

She was here. His little sister was here. She didn't die. SHE WAS ALIVE!

Shirou dashed forward and landed of his knees right in front of her, accidentally knocking Natsu aside. He studied her for every angle, every detail about her. He had to be sure.

His trembling hand slowly reached to her face. The tips of his fingers gently brushing on her skin.

It was all the there. He could never forget her looks, her skin, and her scent. It was indeed his Lisanna.

''LISANNA!'' the man shouted as he pulled the little girl into bear hug.

His little shout wasn't as little as he believed, since all the guild members stopped what they were doing and looked at Shirou and Lisanna.

''Lisanna! Lisanna! Lisanna!'' Shirou kept repeating himself as he was hugging the little girl. The amount of joy and happiness the broken man felt couldn't be described in mere words.

Lisanna for one was a bit scared. Who was this man and why was acting the way he was?

She wanted to scream and protest, but she froze when she felt his scent.

''N-No w-way.'' She muttered in disbelief as she remembered this scent. This unusual scent similar to steel. There was only one person she knew who had this odd scent.

''Y-You... c-can't be here... we kept w-waiting for you... t-they told us y-you died...'' Lisanna muttered incoherently, unable to comprehend the whole situation, he couldn't be here.

There were so many things that Shirou wanted to tell her, how he survived the fall, how he believed they were dead, how much he regretted not being there for them. He could only managed to mutter only two words. ''I survived.'' He told her gently as he looked her in the eyes. Lisanna could see the grey orbs, the tan skin and the white hair locks hidden beneath the hood.

It was him. He returned.

She couldn't keep her emotions in check anymore and broke in tears, hugging Shirou and crying in his arms.

No one could see it, but Shirou was also crying underneath his hood. He couldn't help it. Was this the same joy Kiritsugu felt when he saved him? This pure and unfiltered join? This joy... that made him feel human?

The guild members where all confused to what was going on, but there were two members that weren't enjoying what they were seeing.

''Hey bastard!'' an all too familiar voice called to Shirou. ''What the hell are you doing to my sister?!''

Shirou looked up and couldn't believe what he was seeing. There was a girl in a coat, much like his own, but he could see her face, it was Mirajane, and right next to her was Elfman.

He bit his tongue to see if he wasn't dreaming. They were all alive!

His body somehow couldn't handle the rush of the feeling he was experiencing, and froze in place.

''Mira-nee, Elf-niichan!'' Lisanna cried with the happiest smile they ever saw from her. ''He's back! He returned! Just like he promised!''

Mirajane, Elfman, and almost everyone else in the guild were very confused. Why would Lisanna act like? The girl was always with a bright smile on her face, but she never smiled like this.

Shirou got up from his knee and got closer to Mira and Elfman, while carrying Lisanna on his arm. He once again got on his knee, this time in front of them, he could see the confusion in their eyes. He tried to speak but he couldn't find the words.

He guided his trembling hands to the bandages on his mouth. Due to how much his hands were shaking he couldn't unfold them, so he ripped them off completely. This startled many of the viewers.

As the bandages were slowly falling off his face he then reached the hood and slowly took it off.

Mirajane and Elfman's hearts felt like they stopped. Their eye gaped and trembled upon seeing the face that was hidden under the hood.

''S-S-Shirou-nii?!'' Mira muttered in disbelieve, feelings rapidly building in her, the edges of her eyes already flowing in tears.

''H-Hey there Mira, Elfman...'' Shirou managed to mutter awkwardly as his tears flowed on his face. ''I'm back.''

Both of them instantly broke in tears. He was alive. He was here and now, right in front of them. He returned. He kept his promised.

The two of them jumped in Shirou's arms, unable to keep their tears back anymore. ''Nee-chan it's Shirou-nii! He really came back to us!'' Elfman cried desperately, a trembling grin forming on his face.

They were together again. Shirou didn't break his promise. He returned to their side.

Mira dug her face in chest, trying to hide her face and tears. ''Y-You said you would be home soon.'' She muffled with a sad yet at the same time happy voice.

''A lot of things happened.'' He chuckled bitterly as he held them in his arms, his embrace becoming much stronger.

In that moment Mirajane remembered what she done, and what cause her and her young siblings to be driven out of the village. She couldn't help but feel ashamed in front of her older brother. ''I-I'm sorry Shirou-nii...'' she muttered in a broken tone.

''What for?'' Shirou asked confused, she had no reason to apologize to him.

''I d-didn't listen to you...'' she muttered in shame. ''You taught us to not act rash and fight dangerous creatures and yet I...'' she cried, unable to look at him.

Shirou then remembered what he was told by the villagers a year ago. He then looked at Mira and understood why she was wearing a cloak with hood. He gently picked up the hand that she was so desperately trying to hide under the hood.

It was no longer what one could call a human arm. The skin on was now similar to amber in color, covered in deep wrinkles and several purplish orbs embedded in the flesh, the tips of her fingers were sharp, similar to claws.

No one could look at the hand and not feel a little uncomfortable. It looked in many ways repulsive. Shirou could feel the demonic power lurking from it. The appearance, the touch, even the smell were demonic.

And yet Shirou didn't find it repulsive at all.

He took her demonic hand and placed it on his cheek, gently snuggling against it. ''It's ok.'' he whispered gently. ''No matter how you look, or how much you change, you will always be my little sister.''

''The same goes for you two as well. '' He then looked at all of them, a smile so warm and gentle was shining on his face. ''No matter what happens I will always love all of you.''

They all felt their hearts tighten at their brother's words. They cried, they cried so hard and yet couldn't keep themselves from also smiling.

All four of them cried tears of happiness. The Strauss siblings were together once again. The brother that they thought was dead had returned. The siblings that Shirou thought he lost, he found them once again.

He found them, as well as another thing he thought he had lost.

His heart.

This time... he will be there for them.

''Master Makarov?'' he looked to the old man at the counter. ''Is your offer still available?'' he asked with a tearful chuckle.

''Don't be ridiculous!'' the old man shouted at Shirou, his voice full of indignation. ''After the tearjerker you just showed us, I would have beaten your sorry ass and forced you to join the guild!'' he cried with waterfalls tears.

The master heard the story of the lost elder brother from Mira and the others. How they had an older brother that did everything he could to take care of them, and made sure they didn't miss anything, no matter how hard it was for him, or how much pain it caused him.

How one day he went on a hunting trip and never returned.

Makarov was always a rather emotional man, and to see such a heart-warming reunion between them, there was no way he could hold back his tears.

He wasn't the only one. Almost everyone present in the guild had tears in their eyes, the happiness the brothers felt somehow got transmitted to them.

From the children to the elder people. Even the children that traveled with Shirou couldn't hold back their tears. To think that their savior could cry and smile like that, made them see he was truly human, one capable of real emotion, not some sort of machine or assassin. Just a sad man that found his happiness again.

Even Natsu who was angry at Shirou couldn't help but be moved by their reunion. He always saw Lisanna with a cheerful smile on her face, but it paled in comparison to the one she had now. It also touched him to see the lonely Mira smile like that as well.

''Welcome to Fairy Tail, Shirou Emiya.'' Makarov welcomed him as he blew his nose in a handkerchief.

''Sorry master.'' Shirou let out an amused chuckle. ''Shirou Emiya's journey has finally ended. Now begins the one of Shirou Strauss.''

''Very well then Shirou Strauss.'' The master acknowledged and jumped on the counter so everyone could see him. ''Listen up you brats, cancel all the plans you have for today, for we are celebrating our new member and the reunion of the Strauss siblings.''

* * *

Shirou slowly opened his eyes and gazed upon an unfamiliar ceiling. He looked at his left and right and saw many people passed out on the floor and many broken pieces of furniture.

He recalled the party last night. Everything was all fine and well until Natsu and some kid with a striping problem started a fight. That little fight escalated very fast and turned the whole guild hall into an all brawl zone with almost everyone else joining them.

He sighed as he wondered if this sort of thing was a common occurrence in this guild.

He looked down at his body, smiling as he saw his siblings sleeping peacefully in his arms.

He still couldn't believe what happened while he was trapped in the ravine. Turns out that when Mira confronted the demon, she unconsciously awaken her magic, Take Over, a form of possession magic which enables the user to take the characteristics of the creature she performs it on.

It weakened the demon and allowed her to defeat it, but by not knowing how to properly control her magic, she couldn't turn it off and her appearance always stayed in the demonic one.

Take Over, while not being a very rare type of magic it usually is used on animals or magical beasts, it was never heard of one to use it on a demon. So the villagers, who were very oblivious to the many forms of magic that exist in the world, assumed that Mira herself was being possessed by the demon.

They began to drive Mira out of the village. Lisanna and Elfman stood up for her, and so they assumed that Mira was controlling them to protect her.

One night Elfman woke up to go to the bathroom and saw in the window small lights that were approaching. He immediately recognized that those were torches. He quickly woke up Mira and Lisanna.

The three of them packed whatever they could and left through the backdoor of the house. They watched in horror from the nearby forest as the house they grew up in was set on fire and burned to the ground.

Without any home to return to, without their brother there, they decided to leave and try to start a new life somewhere far away.

They eventually arrived at the Fairy Tail guild where they joined.

If he only knew. If he knew they were still alive, he would have searched for them.

While he can't make up for not being there for them when they needed him the most, the least he could do is make up for the year they were forced to take care of themselves.

Repairing Mira's arm was in fact pretty easy. All he did was gently stab her with Rule Breaker and her hand was back to normal.

Seeing the pure and untainted smile on Mira's face when she was finally free of the demonic visage made Shirou realize something.

He returned.

He had kept his promise to them. No more locking back, no more regrets. Just moving forward together with his family. ''I'm back Mira, Lisanna, Elfman. Big brother's home.''

As the light of the new day fell on them through the windows, a crimson colored guild mark shined on the shoulder of Shirou Strauss.

A Fairy Tail mage.

* * *

 **Author notes:**

 **Ok so that's a wrap.**

 **Man ever since i read 'A Tale of Two Swords' By Parcasious i've had this idea in my head. Seriously go check it out, the guy writes some of the best FSN related stories out there.**

 **Anyway i wanted to write a one shot to see how well i do it, but then again i needed a way for shirou to get sent in the Fairy tail verse, and i REALLY didn't want to use the Zelretch route.**

 **I was kinda stuck at that, but after re-watching the fight scene between Archer and Shirou i particular got hooked on what he said that there is magecraft that allows you to invoke skills from a different. So bandabing i decided to reincarnated Shirou as Mira, Lisanna and Elfman's big brother. (I mean seriously if you look at them its not that hard to believe... if Shirou looks like Archer that is)**

 **As you can see the chapter pretty much screws the canon. But that actually leaves room for new ideas for arcs villains etc. I also might have modified the canon timeline since Natsu joined before Erza did, but its no biggie**

 **Now you might think or say that Shirou might have added out character in this story, but try to understand that by getting reincarnated he no longer was Shirou Emiya, but Shirou Strauss and he somehow was struggling between letting go of his former self or keeping his identity. Plus people tent to change, if not for themselves then for the people they care for. I know it might sound like a big stretch but i would like to believe it.**

 **So i wonder, just how much can Shirou's existence screw up the canon of the Fairy tail world? Who knows?**

 **So since this is a one shot, don't expect me to write any other chapters to it. However if someone would like to continue this story, i wouldn't mind collaborating at it. Basically i cant give the person a minimized idea of the story and he/she has to expand on it and write the story.**


	2. It lives?

Hi guys, well i have good news and bad news.

Which should i tell you first i wonder?

Meh, lets go classic.

Good news is that this is story is officially going to continue.

The bad news however is that i wont be the one to do it.

Lets detail.

I did this story originally as a one shot, never intending to continue it. However after noticing how well it was received i started feeling rather bad that i didn't make it more of a series but I already had my hands tied down with other works and a very messed up schedule so i couldn't do it even if i wanted so what i did was post a collaboration announcement, that if anyone would be interested in continuing it i was willing to hand them the rights to it.

A while back **Animan10** came to me with an collaboration offer. I checked some of his works and i shared some ideas with him and we overall are on the same page with what to make regarding this story, so i decided to hand him the rights to continue it.

Now it won't be just him alone, as i said its a collaboration so both of us are working on it. So don't worry about not seeing my ideas. Who knows you might like his writing style even better, i for one was enjoyed how he handled the first chapter and believe i couldn't do a better job.

Now without further ado, go to **Animan10's** page and check out the very first chapter of the brand new series. (its already out? shocking i know 0_0')

Or simply search for **Swords of a brother: Unlimited**

That's about all so have a nice day or night wherever you are.


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